Notes

/And one day/, you finish writing, /we WILL meet. Mark my words./

Your fingers go slack on the keyboard and you let out a breath. You skim the comment you're typing to your friend, Tsveta, on her birthday present. Satisfied with what you wrote, you click the small "post reply" button in the bottom corner.

The page freezes for a moment before a dark gray box with your reply appears underneath one of Tsveta's comments. You can feel a smile coming. You hope your friend likes the comment. You're in the middle of rereading your comment again when you hear an unexpected crash and bang downstairs.

Thoughts of your mother accidentally dropping a pot run through your mind. Maybe it's even your younger sister getting into trouble again. Whatever the case, you don't waste a second. Grabbing your imaginary magnifying glass and making sure to don your equally imaginary Sherlock Holmes-type attire, you decide to investigate.

You put your phone in your pocket and head downstairs toward the kitchen.

"Mom?" you call. You turn the last corner, facing the kitchen. The memories of Percy, Annabeth, and the Iris-Message flash through your mind.

"You oka--//MOM//?"

You gasp despite yourself. Your mother isn't there.

The kitchen, in fact, is empty. You manage to shrug off your astonishment. If it wasn't your mother, it must have been your sister, Stella. Besides, it couldn't have been your mother, you remind yourself. She is usually teaching English downstairs at this time.

Deciding not to disturb your mom, you head back the way you had come. It was probably a neighbor, or even your own dog, Rita, a Greek pathfinder. You climb the stairs two at a time and get back to your room. You're about to set a hand on your doorknob when you hear a dog's bark, echoing for what you think would be a good kilometer, and a yell of, "Good girl! Sit!"

You almost choke on your own spit. That voice didn't belong to your sister, nor did it belong to your mother. That voice, despite how foreign it was, sounded very familiar to you. It was weeks since you last heard it.

No, you think. It can't be...

But then again, it is.

It happened.

"Percabeth."

They have arrived.

It comes out in a whisper, gliding off your tongue as easily as a leaf in the wind.

"Percabeth," you say again, louder, as if that would aid the fact that they were /here/. You don't believe it.

You waste no time, and maybe you were so excited your heart might have skipped a beat, too. You make a beeline for the door, taking the stairs by threes. You rest a hand on the doorknob, preparing yourself for the astonishment you'll experience any second.

Just then, three knocks appear from the other side, precise and patient. You thrust the door open, your eyes growing wide. You gasp. A normal occurrence now, your jaw takes an unexpected plunge into Tartarus.

Because there is Percy. Not far behind him is Annabeth swiping through an Iris-Message and a dog the size of Clifford wagging its tail.

You leave your phone in your pocket. You have enough pictures of them already.

“Nancy,” Percy says casually. Your eyes drift over to him. "Glad you made it."

You're speechless.

You've thought about it for days, this trip to Camp Half-Blood. You never expected it to be happening now.

"Yeah," you squeak. "When're we leaving? I haven't exactly packed my stuff yet."

Percy frowns. Annabeth shoulders a backpack as she makes her way toward you and Percy. "Mrs. O'Leary's getting impatient," she says. "It'd be a good idea to leave now."

"How long will we be gone?" you ask. "If my parents find out..."

"Two weeks," Percy replies. "Maybe three."

Annabeth fishes a folded note from her pocket. She hands it to you. "Excuse is already covered," she promises. "Clothes, drachmas, everything you need you can get at Camp Half-Blood."

"Then we're good," Percy says. Mrs. O'Leary calms at his touch as he whispers soothing phrases to her. He ruffles her ears and she gives a loud bark. Percy climbs on her back and gives Annabeth a helping hand. He offers you a hand up as you climb up the mountain of fur/shadows.

"First time riders, hang on!" Percy yells over his shoulder. He urges Mrs. O'Leary on toward the base of the side of your house, a shadowed wall, too. You're a bunch of nerves and excitement combined. You can't help but think this similar to Harry Potter when he ran in between platforms 9 and 10 to get to 9 and three-quarters for his train to Hogwarts.

A scream fills the air as Mrs. O'Leary pickens up her pace and bounds for the wall. Your fingers are twisted and knotted in Mrs. O'Leary's fur as you struggle to hang on. Annabeth is doing the same. Percy on the other hand doesn't struggle to hang on. He seems relaxed.

The scream gets louder. You're a meter from the wall before you instinctively brace for impact. Your shoulders stiffen and you shut your eyes tight.

Any second now...

You swallow hard, still ready.

Any time...

It doesn't come.

The scream fades away. It's only now you realize it was yours all along.

A weightless feeling envelops you and you release a shaky breath. The impact didn't happen. It was almost as if Mrs. O'Leary ran straight through a portal... At least, it was what you pictured.

Turns out your mental picture was wrong.

A whiz of colors flies past you in a million kilometers per hour. Despite everything around you, Mrs. O'Leary seems to be moving in slow-motion. Even her breaths are slow and dizzy. She lets out a bark that echoes on for forever. You hold a dizzy hand out in front of you, squinting to make it clear.

You look around at the colors whizzing past you and grin. Despite Mrs. O'Leary's slow motion running, the wild assortment of pieces of rainbow around you, and the dark whispers in the background, you feel a grin spreading on your face.